Just Like Romance
by Bao Blossom
Summary: It was laughable, impossible. Did they really expect him to believe that a Princess from an exotic land had fallen in love with an empty suit of armor?


Disclaimer: Mei, Al, and all other characters of FMA are all too awesome to have come from my teeny brain. I don't own them and write only for my own amusement... And of course the ego food that are reviews. :P

AN: I realize this plot has been done over, and over, and over again. Alas, as hard as I may look, (cuz there really aren't that many Al/Mei stories out there) I just don't seem to find a story that satisfies me entirely so, now you're stuck with mine. So, here goes, hope you enjoy! Set of course, right after the end of the series.

**The Lovers Tender Embrace**

It was almost dark when he saw the big red door in the distance. He had debated whether he should go see her today or wait till morning. He was tired and it was late, and now that he thought about it, maybe it was inappropriate to come so late and unannounced. Zampano and Jerzo had preferred to stay in the imperial palace with Ling, they were tired as well. Their journey had not been perilous (at least no to the point of having to resort to extreme measures), but the desert was wide and hot and... just sucked. The Imperial city was a welcome change of scenery. Even in twilight, the unique buildings and strange architecture of Xing were enough to leave him wide eyed.

There was however, something else that excited him about coming to the Imperial city. Seeing Ling and Ran-Fan in the palace was very comforting. It almost made him feel as if he was not thousands of miles away from home. Because of his unique situation, Alphonse Elric did not define "home" in a conventional sense. To many people, home was a place, unmovable and stable in all and any sense. Over the years however, Al's home had transformed from a place, to a person. Because they had travelled so much over such a long period of time, his home became where ever his brother was. As they met more friends and allies, he felt a sense of belonging where ever there were people who cared for them.

Maybe that's why he wanted to see her so much. Like he said, Ling and Ran-Fan were great to see, but somehow, the anticipation of hearing the small Xingese girl's characteristic "Alphonse-sama!", was enough to take his tired feet a few more miles tonight to see her.

Predictably, Jerzo and Zampano had teased, even Ling muttered something about his "big brotherly" approval before he left the palace, but he didn't care. Al wasn't stupid, or at least not as thick as his brother; he knew the girl harbored some sort of feelings for him, but he had dismissed them as a childish infatuation from the start. What else was he to make of it? Did they really expect him to believe that she had fallen in love (such a strong word too!)with a giant suit of armor? The thought was laughable, just not possible.

Still, no matter how silly her crush was, he had to admit it felt... nice. Sadly but predictably, in his time without a body, it was hard to come by anyone that felt _that_ way about him. For this reason, it struck him as incredibly odd when Al did realize he was the object of someone's affection (and a Princess to boot!). So, he was very careful not to lead her on, the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but he wouldn't unappreciated her sentiments either.

He was too young back then to be in any sort of real relationship anyway. But honestly, it was easier to think that Mei's feelings for him did not run as deep as everyone told him, because it would avoid looking for an answer as to how _he_ felt about her. She was a very nice girl, and they had become good friends through correspondence. He saw no reason to jeopardize their current relationship with unfounded complications. Why stir up something that may not have even been there? Right?

All these thoughts reassured him as he approached the big red door to her house. The small mansion was nowhere near as majestic as the palace, but it held an air of regality none the less. For some reason as the doors became bigger and he got close enough to make out the small details around the pillars, his stomach fluttered. He shook his head realizing that maybe some of those teases had gotten to him.

One of the big doors opened slowly and he stopped in his tracks. It was like being in one of those romance novels where the fair lady came out to greet her prince, and they embraced in a melancholic hug, and after so many years realization hit them both as they mutually declared their undying love towards each other. Ridiculous and unrealistic as this thought was, he had to admit it was somewhat amusing. So when an elderly, not very attractive, old man shuffled out the door instead, he was a bit let down.

The old man seemed not to notice him as he stepped out to light the torches next to the pillars. Al approached hesitantly, waiting to be noticed. The old man lit one more torch by the time Al was standing only a few feet away. Al cleared his throat... gave a small cough... mumbled a small good evening... let out a strong "Excuse me!", before finally, a very forceful "OI!" seemed to alert the old man to someone else's presence.

The old Xingese man wore customary green silk robes and had a thin white braided beard as long as his thin white braided hair. "Oh," he said turning with a slight tremble to his movements, "Good evening young man. Are you in need of assistance?"

Despite his earlier desperation, Al had to smile at the elderly man's kind disposition. He was also greatly relieved that he spoke something other than Xingese. "Yes, thank you," he said rather loudly this time, "I'm here to see Mei Chang."

"You say you need to stay changed?" asked the man bewildered, "Well that's quite the paradox."

Al cocked an eyebrow at the old man, "No, no, I-I said Mei. Chang."

"My change?" asked the old man again, "I dear say you look overdressed for a beggar."

Al closed his eyes somewhat amused and somewhat exasperated. "MEI—"

"Alphonse-sama?"

He jumped, looking back towards the door where the third voice had called his name. It held a certain familiarity to it. Talk about making a bad entrance, here she just had to walk in on him yelling at this poor old man who could very well be her grandfather!

When he looked up however, he was met with a lovely woman who was not Mei. There were some familiar features about her, like the long braided black hair and the lovely fair skin, but two things were definitely different. The first and most obvious was this woman's age. She looked like a mature version of the Xingese girl, definitely well into her thirties, maybe even forties. Then there were her eyes, a stunning blue amidst a line of dark lashes. She was beautiful; Al had to admit, even in her older age, but was not Mei.

"Oh," said the older woman paying no heed to the questioning elderly man beside them, "you are just as Princess Mei described you."

"Ah…?" he started unsurely.

~~~*...o...*~~~

She doubted she looked much like a princess now. In her work clothes, that had seen better days, tired, hungry, sleep deprived and probably still stained in oil. The small panda peeking out through her chest sighed as she did while they walked down the dark streets of Xing. She was finally home.

Having volunteered to help with the railroad construction to Amestris didn't seem like such a daunting task at the beginning. She definitely didn't think it would take this much out of her, especially as a rentanjutsu user. But the desert was wide and hot and it had taken her longer than anticipated to get back. Still, it was finally done; the travel route to Al-sama's country had officially been completed. It would be officially open in a few days time, which is when Ling Yao had called for a festival to celebrate their treaty with the west. Preparations were already going in to decorating the city.

Mei also hoped that, now that the railway was open, Al would hurry up and get here. He had threatened to come "some time during the spring". She assumed that since this was when the railway was scheduled to be open, he'd been waiting for that. She hadn't received a letter from him in a while though. Maybe she should write to him again and just—

Xiao Mei suddenly peeked out from the folds of her clothes and turned to the west. Had she smelled something? They were passing by the imperial palace. Mei knew there was a cat here she didn't really like, but her friend didn't seem to be reacting to a threat.

"Ah! Xiao Mei!" she called out as the panda jumped from her clothes and ran down the street.

She groaned and started after the tiny animal. Did Xiao Mei really have to do this now? She was tired and desperately needed a bath. In her condition it would be a feat just keeping up with the nimble little panda. Mei turned a corner and looked down the street following the rapid black and white dot. Oh, she hoped that man a few feet away wouldn't mistake her for a rat and try to squish her as she ran past.

No, wait, she wasn't running past him, she was running towards him. Did this guy have bamboo shoots up his pants or something? Then, before she could warn him, Xiao Mei pounced and the man finally turned. She was very close to him now, and missed a step when she caught a look at his eyes.

~~~*...o...*~~~

He sighed again, silently this time, fearing he was starting to sound pathetic. He certainly looked it. It was late, and he was walking back to the imperial palace with the same honors as when he left. Mei-less. Apparently she had told the household about his possible arrival and the reason for his visit, but volunteering to help with the construction of the railway meant she hadn't been home for a while. She was supposed to have been back a few days ago, in time for the railway opening festival in two days. But no one seemed to know where she was. He hoped at least that she was ok. She had two days to get here before he started getting too worried.

The old man had been amusing, the woman disconcerting. Turns out she was Mei's Aunt. Al was almost certain that the woman had been Mei's mother. Although calling her own daughter Princess would have been very odd.

"Princess huh?" he said to himself as he walked through the dark streets of Xing. That's right; he could so easily forget that the chirpy, bright eyed little girl was royalty in this foreign country. She was just a kid after all, well, only a year younger than him to be fair. And through her letters she certainly seemed very knowledgeable. Then again, intelligence and maturity did not necessarily go hand in hand, his brother was a perfect example of that.

Al laughed at the thought of his brother mouthing off to some random stranger about... well anything really. He had forgotten the point he was trying to make, and before he knew it, the imperial palace was looming in over him. It didn't look any less imposing at night. If anything the long shadows cast by the golden fire made it look eerie. Though immersed in his thoughts, his instincts were still sharp enough to detect an object racing toward him. He did not expect something so small though, and could not deflect it as it glued itself to his chest.

He looked down and saw black and white. There was something vaguely familiar about this thing and he was shocked to discover it was alive! Wait a second... wasn't this—? He looked up and saw a flash of white and a pair of big dark eyes, getting really close, really fast.

A brief moment of realization and a strong thwacking noise later, two people were crouching in the street pressing their hands over their respectively injured foreheads. The commotion was enough to turn a few heads from the people walking past the site. A couple of imperial guards, who had seen the entire thing play out, stole a glance at the unlikely scene and tried not to burst out laughing.

Maybe if she weren't so tired, maybe if he weren't so deep in thought, they could have avoided hitting each other head on. The blinding white light dissipated and he looked up to see the small girl leaning down and clutching her forehead in pain.

"Mei?" he asked lowering one of his hands.

She looked up, ignoring the small tears in her eyes as if the voice made all her pain disappear. It was deeper but, the same. It couldn't be though. She must have hit her head a lot harder than she thought.

"Alphonse-sama?" she managed to squeak out.

He blinked and through the pain, couldn't stop the chortle than came out his mouth.

Well, so much for the lover's tender embrace.

xxx...o...xxx

AN: mk, I know this story has the potential to become a multi-chapter, but right now I'm still not too sure. I definitely haven't done any legwork to make it one, and I'm kinda waiting to see what kind of a response I will get from it. Maybe you've heard this enough times and are sick of it for all I know! If, however, enough people show interest, I'll get to work on the plot design and background.

Still, be warned! Even if I DO decide to continue this story... it will take me a while. If you are happy with this though, thanks for reading and leave a review if you like!

Bea


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